1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic cassette system and an electronic cassette for use in radiography.
2. Description Related to the Prior Art
An electronic cassette has been widely used in medical radiography, for example, in X-ray photography. An electronic cassette system includes an electronic cassette. The electronic cassette is a portable X-ray image detector provided with an built-in image detector (also referred to as flat panel detector (FPD)) for detecting an X-ray image of a subject such as a patient inside a housing having a front surface on which X-rays are incident, a rear surface facing the front surface, and four side surfaces.
The electronic cassette is provided with a female connector for connecting the electronic cassette to an external device such as a control device for controlling operation of the electronic cassette. A male connector is connected to the female connector.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2012-208334 discloses an electronic cassette in which a female connector (corresponding to “socket 34” in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2012-208334) is formed on a side surface of a housing (see FIG. 3 in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2012-208334). According to Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2012-208334, in a thickness direction of the housing perpendicular to a front surface and a rear surface of the housing, a center position of the female connector is made coincident with a center position of the thickness of the housing.
Incidentally, in X-ray photography, since scattered rays are generated upon transmission of X-rays through a subject, a grid for removing the scattered rays is used in some cases. There is a grid detachably attached to a housing externally (hereinafter referred to as external grid) (see Utility Model Registration No. 3137548 and Utility Model Registration No. 3144690).
The external grid consists of a grid body and a holding frame for holding the grid body. The grid body is attached to the holding frame. The holding frame has a top panel for covering the front surface of the housing, and a side panel which is provided to an edge of the top panel and extends in a direction from a front-surface side of the housing toward a rear-surface side thereof so as to cover part of a side surface of the housing. The side panel has a length enough to reach the center position of the thickness of the housing so as to facilitate positioning of the outer grid relative to the housing.
In the case where the center position of the female connector in the thickness direction of the housing is made coincident with the center position of the thickness of the housing as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2012-208334, when the outer grid is attached to the housing, due to the length of the side panel, the female connector is covered by the side panel, and thus the male connector cannot be connected to the female connector in some cases. Accordingly, there is a limit for the kind of the usable outer grids.
In the case where the female connector is covered by the side panel, the female connector becomes usable at any rate by processing a portion of the side panel covering the female connector, for example, by cutting out of the portion of the side panel covering the female connector. However, such processing is troublesome. Additionally, the strength of the outer grid may be deteriorated in some cases.